Hi everyone! I apologize for this long overdue blog post. Although I really wanted to update during the March holidays, I felt that most of my blog post drafts weren't of the best quality :( Anyways, I've finally decided on this list of my Top 5 favourite apps excluding the basic social media apps such as YouTube, WhatsApp, Instagram and Tumblr (all of which I use daily to an extent that it's almost habitual) 

1. Dramania

Official Link
 Link to download different versions
Does not work on iPhones as it does not support external downloads. Dramania only works on androids.


The best app to watch and download any Korean Dramas (even ongoing ones) and even some Korean Variety shows with English subtitles!



It has a very handy function of letting the user 'favourite' the show that you want and every time a new english-subbed episode is updated, a notification will pop-up. It updates really quickly too, for example, the latest Korean drama I'm watching is called 'Blood' (vampire medical genre) and it airs at 10 o'clock every Monday and Tuesday. By early afternoon the next day, it will be subbed and updated on Dramania, ready to watch! And that's not all, Dramania even provides you with a few links towl watch and download from, just in case the others do not work. Short 30sec advertisements may play on-click but I think it's worth it for a 15 minute part video.



Although the update version 5.5 made the app look much more professional and polished and also introduced a new function called 'Chromecast', it created a lot of problems with the download function. The reason for the error in downloading was due to 'invalid download path' and the app will ask you to 'configure' it even though there's nothing wrong with configuring it to sdcard/downloads.


Personally, I was really annoyed that I couldn't download the Korean Dramas episodes that I wanted to watch using my home WiFi then watch it on my way to school. Instead I had to stream the video using my 4G. I'm sure you can imagine my horror when I checked my mobile data usage! Anyways, after searching high and low, I found this app called Aptoide which let's you download the specific version you want. I recommend Dramania version 4.5. Although you will have to download Aptoide into your phone first, it will automatically kickstart the download for Dramania and you can simply delete Aptoide when you're done!



Besides that, because I downloaded an older version of Dramania which supports downloading, it constantly reminds me to update my app every time I open the app, which gets a little annoying over time. However, the episodes are still updated frequently so there is no need to worry.


Although this app is not available on Google PlayStore and Apple iTunes Store, it is much more effective than apps like 'DramaFever' which only works if you live in the United States.

2. IRIS

Avaliable on both Google Playstore and Apple iTunes store.

Simple to use, it gives a very accurate estimated time of when the bus/MRT is arriving.



I am quite an impatient person and will get upset when I have to wait really long and miss the bus and be late for my appointment. I use this app a lot and when I see that my bus is 'Arriving', I get a headstart by running to the bus stop. Not only that, it also gives you the arrival time for the next bus, in case you are unable to board the first bus.
This app is also good for deciding which bus stop to go to as you can check the estimated arrival timing for the buses at the different bus stops and see which one will arrive sooner.



IRIS also provides really helpful information such as details and changes of the bus routes. We, as commuters, can also obtain information on the first and last train operating hours, planned changes in train schedule and see if the MRT is running smoothly or broke down (again). It's quite nice of SBS Transit to try to please us haha



It requires 3G/4G and the connection may affect the speed of the app but I think that is reasonable.

3. SuperStar SMTOWN

How-to download link for iPhone
How-to download link for Androids

Although there are even easier ways to download SuperStar SMTOWN on android, this method is useful especially when the app requires you to update it. This game is only available in the iTunes store and Google Play store for South Korea but it is in English.


This is a music game where you tap and slide the buttons to the beat and rhythm of the K-Pop songs. The songs are all from the artists in S.M Entertainment (Girls' Generation, Super Junior, SHINee, f(x) and EXO) and it comes in 3 different levels, easy, normal and hard. (The hardest level is really, seriously no joke.)

I want more Grade S or Royal Cards :(

When you complete each song mission, you are gifted with a card of one of the S.M Entertainment Idols. There are many different kinds of cards, ranging from lowest (C) grade to highest (Royal) Grade. The better your cards are, the better your song's score will be! It is an even bigger advantage if the player collects all the cards that corresponds to the theme of the group or artist. These cards can also be used to 'power up' other cards to gain more bonus.


After adding up your top 5 best scores from the songs of different artists, you can compete with random online players all over the world to be in the top 3 positions to earn diamonds and progress to the next level. 

I hope no one takes my position...

It is really hard to compete with others as some people are crazy good at it, but the competitive factor is one of the reasons why this game is daebak! (Korean for awesome lol) However, if you are at the lowest few ranking of the chart, you will be demoted to your previous skill level.


Overall, this is a really fun game, especially with the many ongoing events and new songs being updated frequently. Even if you are not an SMTOWN Stan, this is a definite must-try for any K-Pop fan!

4. No Crop for Instagram

Available on both iTunes and Google Play store


Allows you to edit and add filters and texts within the app, form fancy collages and also add colorful plain/designed borders around your photos!

There are many many many different kinds of apps allowing you to add a white/colored border around pictures so that it can be posted up on Instagram without being cropped into a square. However, I think simply adding white is boring and I want to make my photo appear as fun, loud and interesting as possible. I used to use Squaready on my iPhone which is a little hard to navigate and not available on Google Play store.



Not only does No Crop for Instagram give you an incredibly large range of colors for you to choose from, it also comes with plentiful designs (floral, cartoon, polka dots, nautical, etc.) and stickers (retro, cute, overlays and hipster) to add to your border. And as if that's not amazing enough, you can download FREE unique designs and stickers of different themes from the in-built store! All for FREE! (Not like in some other apps where they give the mainstream stickers for free and charge you USD$0.99 for the nicer ones)

5. Meitu Pic

Available on both iTunes and Google Play store.



A good photo-editing app with many versatile functions.

My favorite function

In one of my previous blog posts on photo editing (link: here) I mentioned that I like to use PhotoWonder as it it has many functions and is in English. Now I found Meitu Pic which is MeiTu Xiu Xiu (美图秀秀) in English! Having been a user of PhotoWonder for many many years, the gigantic updates always got on my nerves as it took up space and sometimes made things worse instead of fixing the bugs.

Had a bit too much fun with the brush haha!

The powerful functions in Meitu Pic are mostly the same as PhotoWonder, if not even better. The filters for the skin tone is much more natural too. Most importantly, the quality of the edited picture is better too!


And that's all of it! Thank you for reading :) As always, please leave a comment on what are your thoughts of this blog post! This post is admittedly, a little different from my usual style. Will these apps be useful for you? Do you agree with any of my favorite apps? I do hope this list was interesting to read :) Please share with me some of your must-have applications down in the comment section below!

❤,

Jermainex